Rio. The final stop. End of the line. The last hurrah. After 10 months and 11 countries it’s time to go home. But, what a place to finish. Seriously, believe the hype. Rio is incredible. I foolishly decided to leave after only five days - not enough time 🤦‍♂️ really not enough at all. Very insufficient. Having thought I was ready for the end, five days in Rio really shattered that in hindsight quite blatant fallacy. Things I learnt the hard way in Rio: stay as long as possible and don’t perversely book a flight home before you absolutely have to; contrary to every piece of photographic evidence of this city you have ever seen, it is sometimes extremely cloudy and you are not guaranteed to see the big famous statue even if you stand literally 10 metres in front of it (ref photo no. 3); don’t enrage the women of Lapa and comically run away Tom and Jerry style, you might fall on inexplicably wet area of floor, gash your finger open and spend the night in the hospital with formerly enraged woman acting as translator, guardian and borderline captor (diagnosis: sore finger, Stockholm syndrome); attending an Umbanda spiritual cleansing ceremony is an interesting cultural experience for sure and if invited it’s very hard to say no, after 10 months of vagabonding your way around Latin America it might also seem like a good idea to get yourself a thorough cleansing, spiritual and/or otherwise, however, those ceremonies are looooooooooonnnnngggggg and if all of your friends are going to the local football derby instead that option might also be nice and you can put your cleansing on hold; the caipirinha’s sold at the stalls on the street are strong, you don’t need to buy the pint-sized option. And with those priceless practical tips it’s a wrap. Home for a rest. #rio#brazil#southamerica#latinamerica#christtheredeemer#cristoredentor#travel#homewardbound#help

Earlier this year I was randomly watching @partsunknowncnn and Anthony Bourdain was raving about the best sandwich in the world. It happened to be the national dish of Uruguay. At the time I had no idea where Uruguay was located geographically but I knew I had to try this sandwich at some point in my life. He said it best, “Welcome to the tiny, overlooked but enchanted land of Uruguay, one of my favorite places to visit and easily one of the top under-appreciated travel destinations on earth. It has beautiful beaches, breathtaking countryside, and a capital that evokes old Havana or Buenos Aires—but without the crowds." Thanks @tbrown956 for dialing up an epic travel itinerary and paying for global @att so we could watch the @ravens beat the bengals from 5,300 miles away. #montevideo#montevideosign#uruguay#southamerica#ravensfansabroad#tannat#chivito#bromance#seekbromance#doepicshit#maxliving#livingitup#tourists